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In case you haven’t heard, Mimosa is the “official” 2009 Color of the Year according to Pantone, the global color expert for the design industries.
Pantone’s Mimosa (PANTONE® 14-0848) appears to be a strong clean bright yellow on the reddish side -- that is, an orangey yellow. Named after the perky yellow variety of flowers of the mimosa tree, the hue reminds us of yummy summer cocktails on the veranda.
Not to be overlooked in this time of economic and political reinvention, says Pantone, no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow. Pantone’s anointing of Mimosa is primarily intended to influence fashion and interior designers - professionals who demand exact color matches for their fabrics, house paints, signage and logos. Here in the southeast, Binders is the largest distributor of Pantone products.
What impact will Mimosa have on visual artists? Since it is simply a warm yellow, Mimosa can be a dominant hue, as well as a bright accent color. By any name, Mimosa is a versatile shade that coordinates with any other color. It is particularly eye-catching against deep blue, smoky grape, neutral grays and natural colors, like wood. It pops near coral and turquoise.
Actually, well ahead of Pantone, Michelle Obama especially dazzled the populace when she wore Mimosa-like colors while on the campaign trail with her favorite candidate.
And last January in New York, just weeks after Pantone’s decree, The Gap was quick to open a pop-up shop on 5th Avenue where it exclusively sells Mimosa and other Pantone-hued T-shirts.
But how popular Mimosa will be for visual artists through 2009 remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, artists who wish to dabble into Mimosa colors will find them in abundance at Binders -- oils, acrylics, watercolors, alkyds, pastels, pencils, and more.
For example, with Winsor & Newton Artist Oil Colours, the company says both their Cadmium Yellows and Winsor Yellows are a close to a perfect match for Pantone’s Mimosa (see swatch above).
Visit our website at www.bindersart.com!
I had the opportunity to be in the audience while Jim Schell was interviewed at last month’s meeting of the Portrait Society of Atlanta (PSA). Jim Schell is surely one of Atlanta’s old masters -- a highly accomplished portrait artist, as well as a respected teacher. We have had the good fortune to know Jim over the years as he has also been a long-standing customer of Binders.
During Jim’s PSA interview he was answered questions about his career accomplishments. He regaled is eager audience with many insights and anecdotes about being a successful artist. “Was there any time in your career that you thought that you might pursue something other than painting?” Jim didn’t take one second to think before relating the following tale that happened to him many years ago.
Jim said he came to Binders early one morning about 15 minutes before the doors opened. So, to kill a little time until the store opened he decided to walk across the street to get a cup of coffee. On his way back to the store he had to pause for the traffic to clear before recrossing busy Piedmont Road again. As he waited at the curb, coffee cup in hand, a car pulled up, a window rolled down, an outstretched arm appeared and a dollar bill was quickly thrust into Jim’s coffee cup.
Jim said, as he stood there whimsically staring into his cup, this was the only moment that he might have consider doing something else other than painting, because, as he put it, “this was easy money!”
Much to our amusement, Jim went on to say that when he got home that evening he told his family what had happened to him in front of Binders. His kids asked, “Dad, what on earth were you wearing?” Jim replied, “What I wear every day.” “That explains it,” his family responded, “no wonder you got a hand out!”
And so, he said, his momentary thought of becoming a professional panhandler quickly faded. Besides, he said, that cup of Joe was $1.25 and since he only collected a dollar on the street that day, this might not be such a good business venture after all.
The epilogue to the story is that if Binders had opened a few minutes early that morning, the events that transpired might not have ever happened. Thus, Jim might not have ever considered another lifetime career for himself. And from that moment in time, Jim knew there was only one thing that he absolutely should be doing – painting!
Atlanta’s High Museum of Art currently has three great exhibitions on view.
The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army, through April 19, 2009. The archaeological examples including warriors from the terracotta army, court officials, acrobats, musicians, terracotta chariot horses, and bronze water birds discovered beside the complex's underground river. Showcasing over 100 works.
The Treasure of Ulysses Davis, through April 5, 2009. Ulysses Davis made his living as a Savannah barber. By night, he was a self-taught artist who created a body of more than 300 highly refined pieces, often with improvised tools, that reflects his rich imagination and humor as a sculptor.
Louvre Atlanta: The Louvre and the Masterpiece, through September 6, 2009. Featuring 91 works from the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Spanning 4,000 years, this exhibition draws from all eight of the Louvre’s collection areas, including paintings, sculpture, decorative arts and drawings.
Read more Visit our website at
www.bindersart.com!
Artworks by members of the Colored Pencil Society of America are on view until March 29 at the Gallery of the Unitarian Universalism Congregation in Atlanta. That means you’ll have to hurry to check-out these remarkable portraits, still lifes, landscapes and abstracts -- all brilliantly rendered with colored pencils by Atlanta Chapter artists.
The Gallery is at 1911 Cliff Valley Way NE. The exhibition is free and open to the public Monday-Thursday 9-5, and Sunday 9-1. For information call 404-634- 5134. Pencils, the kind we think of nowadays, were first manufactured in the nineteenth century. Until that time, the term pencil referred to small, painted brushes.
Today, artists have several types and brands of colored pencils to choices from. For example, some pencils are like traditional pastel sticks but harder for crisper edges. Other types are softer, water-resistant and contain permanent pigments. The kind called watercolor pencils that are soluble in water, they can be used dry with great results, or washed over with water to flow the color. Some artists combine different types of colored pencils in the same artwork, much to the annoyance of purists.
In our own home art studio, we tried out a few different types of colored pencils (and different paper textures, too!) before committing to a full-spectrum.Visit our website at
www.bindersart.com!
The Inspiration Within You June 11-16, 2009
Join renowned painter Wayland Moore as he teaches you how to expand your art skills and draw inspiration from your surroundings. The Round Hill Hotel & Villas and I Do Events will host five days filled with instruction and critique sessions with Moore. CondéNast Traveler listed Round Hill as one of the top 25 resorts in the Caribbean, and Caribbean Travel & Life named the resort one of the Caribbean’s “All-Time Top 10 Classic Resorts.”
Wayland Moore Painter/Poet/Adventurer
Wayland Moore is an internationally acclaimed painter of acrylics, oils and watercolors. His forte is the exciting use of swirling color in a near-strobic effect that captures motion without freezing it. A graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design,his career spans 50 years of commissions, exhibitions and teaching, including a White House commendation. Moore is revered as the selected artist for major sporting events, including the Summer and Winter Olympics, the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open.
Space is limited, so visit www.roundhill.com for reservations, or call 800-972-2159 to reserve your spot today!
For additional information, contact Elizabeth Fletcher at 770-452-7762 or elizabethfletcher1@comcast.net.Visit our website at
www.bindersart.com!
Not content to wait for Washington to boost the economy, BINDERS takes matters into its own hands with an easy-to-enter Drawing for Artists League Stimulus Packages.
You and your group could win over $900 in Prizes, including:
• $500 credit in art supplies for your group
• $100 gift certificate for the winning artist group member
• A guest speaker for one of your meetings sponsored by a BINDERS art supply vendor
• Four $25 gift cards for giveaways during speaker event
• $200 in art supply products for raffle prizes during the speaker event
Three full Stimulus Packages will be awarded. Each organization is eligible to win one package only.
It’s easy to enter.
Between April 1 and May 31, every time a Member of your Artist Organization spends $50 or more in a single purchase at Binders Atlanta store we’ll award it another Entry for the Stimulus Package Drawing.
You and your members must mention the name of your group to the BINDERS store cashier at checkout in order for each purchase to become an entry in this drawing.
BINDERS suggests that you tell all members of your group about this exciting drawing. You and your members can visit Binders and enter as often as desired from April 1 through May 31, 2009. The more qualifying purchases you make, the better chances your organization has to win!
You and your fellow members will be helping yourselves too, because the three members whose winning purchase-entries are drawn will receive a personal $100 Gift Certificate. And, as always, everyone gets all the savings and service that BINDERS is famous for.
Each organization has the option to involve their membership in the manner they choose. For example, you can announce this Drawing to all your fellow- members to make them aware of how winning a BINDERS Stimulus Package will benefit your organization. It’s up to you.
The Drawing for the three winners will be at BINDERS on May 31, 2009. $100 Gift Certificates will go to the three individuals whose Entries are drawn, and full Artist League Stimulus Packages will be awarded to an officer of each of the three winning organizations. Visit our website at
www.bindersart.com!
For the second year, the Georgia Watercolor Society has organized a show and scholarship program devoted exclusively to graduating high school students. The paintings on display represent students from public high schools in Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties who have had the opportunity to submit watermedia paintings for jurying and awards. Over $2,100 in awards will be provided to top students for their continued art study. The Georgia Watercolor Society is very excited and privileged to continue this scholarship program to inspire and contribute to the development of tomorrow's fine artists. The work will be on display April 6th through the 26th in The Limelight Gallery at BINDERS. The reception and awards presentation will be on April 26th from 3pm to 4pm. We invite you to join us for the reception and enjoy the wonderful artwork. BINDERS prides itself on strong relationships with the art community. We are proud to support the Georgia Watercolor Society and many other art organizations through our gifting program.
Visit our website at
www.bindersart.com!
